This is what I was doing last week:
This is where I was doing it:
This is who I was doing it with:
Not pictured: Miang Lao, grapefruit pound cake, or apple-potato galette.
I know, I know, cruel to mention those delicious things and then go on to rant about a yet-unmentioned single ingredient that is unrelated to all of the above. But I'm going to do it anyway. So: let's talk about white balsamic vinegar.
The Stonehouse Olive Oil company has a store in San Francisco's Ferry Building Marketplace, cleverly located next to Recchiuti Confections (don't get me started talking about their cardamom chocolate) and it was through Stonehouse that I first encountered the lighter sibling of dark balsamic vinegar. Their website informs us that white balsamic is aged for only one year-- decidedly on the young end of balsamic vinegar. Wikipedia tells us that your better class of balsamic is aged for twelve years, and your spiffiest variety is aged for twenty-five. I certainly had no complaints about its youth, however. It tastes a bit sharper and sweeter than dark balsamic, and a bit lighter. And mixed with olive oil as dressing for a salad of spinach, beets, blue cheese, and salt-roasted pecans, it was delicious. (The Italians are probably horrified at the mere thought of white balsamic vinegar.) I curse TSA for preventing me from bringing liquids or gels (mmm, pepper jelly) back on the plane, but I'm happy to have found a third possible salad dressing if I see white balsamic again. (The other two? Dark balsamic + olive oil and lemon juice + olive oil.)
